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Posted on: Nov 15, 2007
Rock Band
WORDS BY: Dan Amrich
Whirled Tour
Rock Band is clearly a culmination of everything that Karaoke Revolution and Guitar Hero offered, only further evolved. Since this is your personal rock-’n’-roll fantasy, you’ll start the game by creating your own musician. Choose an attitude (read: set of animations) for rock, punk, metal, or goth, then mix and match wardrobe elements, from post-apocalyptic armor to jackets befitting Sgt. Pepper himself. Every outfit, hairstyle, and instrument comes in your choice of several dozen color combinations; you can also create custom shirts, face paint, and band logos with a layered clip-art system. (We particularly enjoyed the guitar and bass options, which include custom sunburst finishes and a DIY sticker kit.)
Launch a career as a solo artist (guitar, drums, or vocals — all three instruments are included in the $170 Rock Band Special Edition bundle) or form your own band with friends. Tour the world as a four-piece, light up stages as a power trio, or pound out tunes as a tight drum/bass rhythm section — as long as the band leader remains in the session, you can add or subtract members on the fly as you’re challenged to complete gigs of various lengths and difficulties. Four-player Xbox Live support means any of the musicians can QuickPlay jam from anywhere, but you can’t do co-op career online — a major disappointment. However, online play proved enjoyable, and on the whole, lag-free — you may hear some out-of-sync bleed through the headset, and the singer’s signal won’t be transmitted due to lag: the other players will hear the pre-recorded vocal track. (The singer can hold RB to chat.)
But gathering four people in the same room offers a collective joy that online play can’t touch. Suddenly the game becomes much more than merely seeing who can make the least mistakes; as each musician hits the buttons, smacks the pads, or matches the pitch, they’ll in turn support and even save their bandmates. When one member starts to have trouble, their playfield flashes red; any other player can trigger their stored Overdrive (Rock Band’s manifestation of Star Power) to give them a boost. And even if they fail completely, the show must go on — another infusion of Overdrive can bring a stalled singer or a flummoxed drummer back into the song. Co-op has rarely been so rewarding.
When the band’s locked in together, Overdrive can pump score multipliers as high as 8x to secure higher scores and more adoring fans — fans who will audibly sing along to your performance when you’re doing well. If that doesn’t send a small tingle up your spine, you may not be alive. And even within the group dynamic, every musician gets a chance to show off — guitarists step out for solos, bassists are rewarded with extra points for remaining in the groove, improvised drum fills give the percussionist a chance to cut loose, and the singer whacks away on a virtual tambourine — or cowbell. Any game that rewards the whole team for individual accomplishments earns praise from us.
PREV
Sat, 10/17/2009 - 18:49
Posted by wickland
yeah the guitar is hard to use, but also the stupid drums kept breaking on me.
Mon, 07/28/2008 - 12:15
Posted by lespaulbarona
I meant the guitar is hard to use not the notes are hard to play.
Mon, 07/28/2008 - 12:15
Posted by lespaulbarona
I love this game the only bad thing about it is the guitar because it is really hard to play. I can't wait for Guitar Hero World Tour!!!
Sun, 06/08/2008 - 06:02
Posted by Scars4Life8989
I love rockband and i just beat it today!
Fri, 04/11/2008 - 05:29
Posted by geek24
$160 hmmmm... ill pay
Fri, 02/29/2008 - 20:11
Posted by Shinoobi Daniel
this game freakin ROCKS!!!!! anybody want to play? my gamertag is shinoobi daniel
Mon, 02/11/2008 - 16:18
Posted by dietcoke4fatty
im sorry but this shouldint be game of the year, i know its just an opinion but there were so many 10s, why choose rockband over them?(just a opinion
Wed, 12/26/2007 - 15:37
Posted by GMAN CLAN
Oh and Commander X99 i just bought the bundle it includes: A Mic, 1 Guitar, the Drumset(with sticks) and it comes with a usb adapter to plug all of the usb cords into so don't overlook that piece of equipment or you will be missing a vital piece of the game. Hope i helped.
--My Gamertag is GMAN CLAN. Check me out on xbox live!
Wed, 12/26/2007 - 15:35
Posted by GMAN CLAN
I Love The Game!!! My only complaint is the drums need to be softer...and is it just me or is it really hard to see the Hammer on notes on the guitar part. i play a really fast section and i have no idea where i can hammer on so i miss a bunch of notes because for some reason i have to strum when there are 80 notes going up and down a scale??? That annoys me a lot otherwise its a great game!
--My Gamertag is GMAN CLAN. Check me out on xbox live!
Thu, 12/13/2007 - 17:16
Posted by Commander X99
just if anybody out there can solve my problem i am wonderin? what all comes with bundle? ive heard u get the drum set the mike and 2 guitars,others have told me only 1 guitar comes with if anybody out there knows please help me!
Tue, 12/11/2007 - 19:48
Posted by WJ3005
can you earn the easy achievements by playing on a harder difficulty? translation: do i get the easy achievement too if i do a complete play through on medium and get the medium achievement? etc... The fact that GH3 didn't have this ticked me off.
Fri, 11/30/2007 - 11:12
Posted by SharpShot303
GamerTag=SharpShot303
well overdrive or (starpower) is acctivated by doing your solo and then hitting the last note in the solo usually the green note at the end so then you get overdrive the bad thing is you really cant use the overdrive when you want so its like a one chance thing if you hit that note at the end of that solo then you get it if you dont then your f**ked.
Fri, 11/30/2007 - 11:07
Posted by Lazyman0022
How do you do overdrive or whatever for drums?
Fri, 11/30/2007 - 06:41
Posted by SharpShot303
GamerTag=SharpShot303
whats cool about this game is that even now your all a band you can all pick different diffucalty levels to play on witch is cool. another thing is that the guitar finaly dosent make that clicking nosie when you strum
Sat, 11/24/2007 - 13:14
Posted by saggin good
i love it i just wish you could use the controller
Thu, 11/22/2007 - 11:33
Posted by Swishpronoob
I have a question about this game. Will each individual be able to choose an individual difficulty when playing co-op? I wish I could get this game but the Air Force does not pay me enough.
Mon, 11/19/2007 - 12:01
Posted by cart00nstrip
I really want this game, but I just can't justify the price for the near future - Mayhaps next year...
Sat, 11/17/2007 - 15:12
Posted by BEARamos713
I want to watch Dan sing a Coheed and Cambria song.
Sat, 11/17/2007 - 10:22
Posted by PaperLantern
So, are a lot of OXM's reviews going to be on this site?
Sat, 11/17/2007 - 10:07
Posted by Kamikaze8
i personally think guitar hero looks better, and feels better, but it has no drums, so that y i want this...
Fri, 11/16/2007 - 07:03
Posted by SilentMerc3nary
Rock Band is a game I will be getting when it drops down in price. I'm not paying 170 for this. Guitar Hero FTW!!!